Ph.D. Course Descriptions
THEO 509 Theological Latin I (LATN 103)
This course provides an opportunity for motivated students with little or no prior study of Latin
to move rapidly but thoroughly through the forms and grammatical principles of the language. It
also provides a comprehensive review for students with two years of Latin at the high school
level. It is recommended for undergraduate students who intend to major in Classics. Graduate
students seeking a comprehensive and mature introduction or review of Latin enroll in THEO
509, which comprises all of the content of LATN 103 and an additional one-hour class per week
devoted to the study of early Christian Latin vocabulary and literature. Classics Faculty
THEO 510 Theological Latin II (LATN 104)
This course is a continuation of THEO 509. It completes the study of all major grammatical
constructions and introduces the student to the reading of longer, continuous Latin texts from the
classical period. It is designed for students intending to continue the study of Latin at an
advanced level. THEO 510 comprises the entire content of LATN 104 and an additional hour per
week devoted to the reading and analysis of selections from ecclesiastical Latin writings from the
patristic period to modern times. Prerequisite: THEO 509. Classics Faculty
THEO 513 Theological Greek I
This course equips the student with the basic grammatical rules and elementary vocabulary
needed to read Classical, Biblical, and Patristic Greek texts, thereby providing the foundation for
scholarly exegetical study of both the Bible and Greek Fathers of the Church. Classics Faculty
THEO 514 Theological Greek II
This course deepens the student’s training in the grammar and vocabulary of Classical, Biblical
and Patristic Greek. Further and more extensive readings in Greek philosophical and theological
texts are provided. Prerequisite: THEO 513. Classics Faculty
THEO 515 Theological Hebrew I
The student will master the writing system and pronunciation of Classical Biblical Hebrew, the
morphology of nouns, adjectives, and regular verbs (Qal, Niphal, Piel, Pual, and Hithpael stems),
and the basics of clause-level prose syntax, and will also memorize (for Hebrew to English
recall) approximately 275 vocabulary items (Ross, Introducing Biblical Hebrew, lessons 1-28).
Vall
THEO 516 Theological Hebrew II
The student will master the morphology of regular and irregular verbs in the various stems, will
memorize (for Hebrew to English recall) 165 new vocabulary items from Ross, Introducing
Biblical Hebrew, lessons 29-40 (while retaining the vocabulary from lessons 1-28), and will
translate prose narrative passages from Genesis (lessons 41-50). Vall
THEO 519 Advanced Biblical Greek Readings
For students who have taken at least two semesters of Greek (biblical or classical), this course
involves the grammatical analysis and translation of relatively challenging texts from the Greek
New Testament and the Septuagint. In order of priority, the course focuses on morphology,
syntax, and vocabulary. Matters of textual criticism and of the relationship between grammar,
exegesis, and theology are dealt with in passing. The main goal of the course is to serve the
graduate theology programs by enabling the student to read the Greek text of the New Testament
and the Septuagint with greater facility. Vall
THEO 605 Scripture and the Mystery of Israel
Among the “divinely revealed realities” to which the Old Testament refers (DV § 11), the
historical people of Israel itself constitutes a mysterium. By divine adoption, Israel possesses a
corporate personhood and a unique identity and vocation, and according to the sensus spiritualis,
they “signify” Christ and his Church. This course undertakes an in-depth study of key elements
in the “divine pedagogy” by which God began to reveal himself and his plan of salvation in
stages to Israel in preparation for the Incarnation (CCC § 53), including a selection of the
following: Israel’s adoptive sonship and the revelation of God’s Fatherhood; the sacramentality
of the Holy Land; Israel’s view(s) of the afterlife; sacrifice and prayer; Israel’s view of history;
Israel and the nations; the faithful remnant; and the “knowledge of God.” The primary goal of
the course is to equip the student to draw on the Old Testament as a vital theological source
through an enhanced appreciation of its integral relation to the whole body of revealed truth. Vall
THEO 614 Isaiah 40-66
These chapters of Isaiah, which constitute one of the theological summits of the Old Testament
and are quoted some forty times in the New Testament, will be studied within a realist and
ecclesial hermeneutic that takes seriously a series of interrelated contexts—including ancient
Near Eastern history, Israel’s theological and spiritual development, the canonical book of
Isaiah, the Christian canon, the Church’s tradition of theological exegesis, and the pluralistic
milieu of contemporary biblical scholarship—and in such a way as to make a contribution to our
program’s goal of contemplative theology. Vall
THEO 616 The Gospel of John
The first-fruits of Scripture are the Gospels, and the first-fruit of the Gospels is John, according
to Origen, one of the earliest commentators on John. This course familiarizes students with the
Greek text of John and with a selection of the radically different readings it has received from
Antiquity to the Modern Age, especially those of Heracleon the Gnostic, Origen, John
Chrysostom, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Rudolf Bultmann, Rudolf Schnackenburg, and Jerome
Neyrey. It gives special attention to the theological depths of the text and the development of
these depths in the Church’s Trinitarian faith as unfolded in the theological traditions. Waldstein
THEO 619: Epistle to the Hebrews
Rhetorically sophisticated and theologically profound, the Epistle to the Hebrews is of unique
importance for understanding the high priesthood of Jesus Christ and the relationship between
the old and new covenants. After treating introductory questions (genre, author, destination, date,
and structure), the course will turn to a detailed exegesis, with special emphasis on the author’s
use of the Old Testament, aided by the commentaries of Thomas Aquinas and H. W. Attridge.
Vall
THEO 620 Apostolic Fathers
The corpus of writings referred to as the Apostolic Fathers, which were composed in the first and
second centuries, provide a unique window into a fascinating early period in the Church’s
development, constitute an important theological link between the New Testament and the
patristic writings, and witness to the zeal and sanctity of three great bishops: Clement of Rome,
Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp of Smyrna. This seminar will inquire especially into two
dimensions of these texts: their approach to and interpretation of Scripture, and their presentation
of the historical economy of redemption. Vall
THEO 621 Preambula Fidei and Catholic Theology
Can the existence of God be proven philosophically, has such a proof been successfully
achieved, and what might be the theological value of such a proof? These questions and others
like them are taken up in this course, which surveys proofs for the existence of God in the
Catholic theological tradition before and after Vatican I’s definition that “that God exists” can be
known by natural reason. We explore David Hume’s and Immanuel Kant’s profoundly
influential criticisms of the classical proofs. In this light we examine contemporary philosophical
and theological efforts to retrieve, develop along new lines, or bury the classical proofs. Our
focus will be on the viability and theological value of St. Thomas Aquinas’s proofs in particular.
More recent authors who may be examined include Jacques Maritain, Anthony Kenny, Ralph
McInerny, Denys Turner, and Richard Dawkins. Long
THEO 622 Eternity and Time in Augustine, Plotinus, Boethius, and Aquinas
This seminar explores how the wisdom and understanding of eternity and time in Augustine,
Boethius, and Aquinas are philosophically and theologically relevant as corrections to
contemporary historicism. The seminar will research how Plotinus has a very different
understanding of eternity and time than Augustine, relating this to major differences in their
respective philosophies due to the influence of faith and theology on Augustine. Finally, we shall
see how Boethius mediates Augustine’s breakthrough to the Middle Ages and Aquinas. A
reading knowledge of Greek and Latin is encouraged. Lamb
THEO 625 Body, Soul, and Christian Theology
John Paul II’s Theology of the Body provides a fruitful point of departure for examining the
theology of the body in the Early Church, above all because of its comprehensive “hermeneutics
of the gift ” (TOB 13:2). The introductory part of this course turns to the interpretation of the
Gospel of John and of Gnosticism in Rudolf Bultmann, Martin Heidegger, and Hans Jonas. In
close collaboration with each other, these three authors sharply raise the question of the body in
the modern context of a mechanized universe. Bultmann responds to this question in an
existentialist reading of John and Jonas in an existentialist reading of Gnostic texts. The main
part of the course turns to the sources themselves to develop a comparative reading of the Gospel
of John, the Gnostic Apocryphon of John and the Anti-Gnostic writings of Irenaeus of Lyon.
Waldstein
THEO 628 Theology and Postmodernism
Most putatively postmodern thought is not post-modern but hyper-modern. Radicalizing the
premises of early modern philosophy, it seeks to deconstruct any residual belief in reason’s
ability to know anything substantially true about the nature of man, the whole, and God. Catholic
theology thus finds itself in a unique situation: it currently must defend both faith and reason
from modern rationalism’s degeneration into irrationalism. Drawing on the works of theologians
such as Karl Rahner, Bernard Lonergan, John Milbank, Ernest Fortin, and Joseph Ratzinger, this
course examines theology’s response to this challenge. Special attention is paid to the ways in
which a serious, dialectical encounter with both premodern classical and Christian thought
allows us to appreciate the strengths and limitations of modern rationalism. Lamb
THEO 631 St. Augustine’s De Trinitate
The purpose of this seminar is to study St. Augustine’s De Trinitate as the apex of Augustine’s
work, setting out in detail his theological investigation of an immaterial image of the Trinity. Our
study is primarily foundational, indicating how St. Augustine developed analogy as different
from metaphor and how created knowing and loving as imago Dei demand the movement from
our descriptive categories of God to the Triune God as revealed Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The influence of Augustine’s work on subsequent Trinitarian theology is also studied. A reading
knowledge of Latin is strongly recommended. Lamb
THEO 632 St. Augustine’s De Civitate Dei
The main focus of this seminar will show how the political theology of St. Augustine draws upon
a proper understanding of the classical three ways of living to demonstrate the inadequacy of
philosophy to deal with the injustice and evil in human history. Augustine shows the need of
salvation in Christ Jesus, and the wisdom of Christian faith, hope, and charity to redeem human
society and history and justify the quest for intellectual and moral excellence. This seminar’s
approach to The City of God will be primarily a careful reading of the text. A reading knowledge
of Latin is strongly recommended. Lamb
THEO 636 Aquinas on Salvation
This course will introduce students to Aquinas’s theology of salvation as presented in the tertia
pars of the Summa theologiae. The course will focus in particular on Aquinas’s theology of
Christ’s Cross and on his theology of the Eucharist. In addressing these topics, however, a wide
range of questions from the tertia pars will be discussed. Topics to be treated include the
Incarnation, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Old Law and New Law of grace, Israel and the
Mystical Body, eschatology, the sacraments in general, the theology of sacrifice, charity and the
Eucharist, transubstantiation, and the liturgy. Earlier theologians such as St. Anselm, Abelard,
and St. Bernard will also be briefly discussed, along with relevant secondary literature on
Aquinas’s theology. Nutt
THEO 637 Nominalism and Voluntarism: The Eclipse of Theological Wisdom
This seminar will begin by a clarification by contrast between key texts in Thomas Aquinas and
Duns Scotus. It will then proceed to a study of important texts of William of Ockham, who
articulated the foundations of nominalism and voluntarism, along with their spread and dominant
influence on the reformers and philosophers responsible for modernity. This study will indicate
the importance of a metaphysics of being and cognitional sapiential theory to overcome
nominalist and voluntarist dualisms. Texts will be in Latin, German, and French, as well as
English. Lamb
THEO 639 The Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar
Among twentieth-century Catholic theologians, Balthasar is the only one to have produced a
monumental fifteen-volume systematic theology. Balthasar structured his massive systematics
around the three transcendentals of beauty, goodness, and truth. This seminar will explore how
his tripartite work provides a historical transposition of the transcendentals in terms of the
classical three ways of living. The Glory of the Lord, his theological aesthetics of beauty,
corresponds with the productive-poetic way of living. Balthasar dwells on the many forms of
creation and redemption that are objectively visible in the history of salvation to those with the
eyes of faith. Theo-Drama transposes the practical way of living with its attention to the dramatic
living out of the good in the theological and human virtues in the life of the Church. Finally, his
Theo-Logic transposes the theoretical way of living with its sustained attention to truth, wisdom,
and science. A reading knowledge of German is recommended. Waldstein
THEO 645 Metaphysics and Ethics: The Classical Tradition of Catholic Moral Theology
This course explores certain metaphysical foundations necessary for understanding the classical
tradition of Catholic moral theology. Drawing upon Aristotle’s works, we will discuss such
themes as the four causes, hylomorphism, and a unified teleology. Turning to Aquinas’s
theological development of these themes, we will explore human personhood in light of the
doctrine of creation and its metaphysical implications. The last section of the course will treat
eternal and natural law as well as man’s creation in grace and man’s twofold motion toward the
final, supernatural, beatific end. Long
THEO 646 Human Destiny, the Virtues, and the Moral Life
Guided by the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas in dialogue with contemporary treatments such
as the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Veritatis Splendor, this course will take up basic
elements of moral theology as set forth especially in the secunda pars of the Summa theologiae.
Among the themes discussed will be beatitude; the relationships between freedom, law, and
grace; acquired and infused habitus, and the structure of human action. Long
THEO 647 Object and Species of Moral Acts
This seminar considers the classical analysis of human moral action articulated by St. Thomas
Aquinas in the prima secundae of the Summa theologiae in relation to the Church’s moral
magisterium, to the foundations of the natural law, and to certain contemporary accounts that
tend to dissociate both the norms and the analysis of human action from natural teleology and
eternal law. Long
THEO 661 Human Dignity and Bioethics
Modern technology is something of a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it has contributed to
human beings’ increased economic and material well-being and enabled us to live longer and
healthier lives. On the other hand, it has brought forth technologies that threaten human life and
human dignity in new and unprecedented ways. In our day, such threats increasingly take the
form of powerful biotechnologies that hold out the possibility of altering the very face of our
humanity. This course examines how Catholic theology can help us understand why such
technologies must be subordinated to humanizing ends that reflect the true dignity of the human
person. Long or Tamisiea
THEO 691 The Ancients
The dialectic operative in modern and contemporary cultures and in the academy can only be
adequately addressed through the careful study of the ancient philosophers and theologians. The
importance of both contemplative (theoria) and practical (phronesis) wisdom was foundational
for ancient thinkers. Consequently they insisted that the study of metaphysics and ethics should
guide the speculative and practical sciences in their efforts to assist man’s living the good life.
However, the great Greek and Latin philosophers could not adequately explain why so few live
by what is highest in them, namely, their reason. They subsequently tended to ascribe this failure
to something in human nature. By contrast, the Greek and Latin fathers recognized how faith in
God’s creation, the fall, and man’s redemption by the Incarnate Word of God enlightened reason.
The fathers understood that sin and disordered desire were not part of created human nature but a
result of a sinful rejection of friendship with God, a proud desire to be like God. Readings will be
chosen to explore how naturally acquired and supernaturally infused wisdom come together in
the developments of the Biblical Word of God, the doctrinal concerns of the fathers that the
Word of God is true, and the speculative interests of the medieval schoolmen in showing how the
true Word of God both enlightens human reason and is intelligible in the divinely revealed
teachings of the Catholic faith. Lamb
THEO 692 The Moderns
Following upon THEO 591/691, this course studies the momentous shift from wisdom to power
that Machiavelli initiated and the fateful consequences this has had on all modern cultures. In the
modern classics treated in this course one encounters ever more fateful rejections of the premodern philosophical and theological traditions’ shared understanding of reason as what is
highest and most divine in man. The modern authors studied here characteristically view reason
as a tool that allows man to impose his will upon things. As such, the wisdom, both human and
divine, of the ancients is routinely dismissed as empty utopianism. Gone is the attunement of the
human mind to the whole in metaphysics; gone is the retention of high intellectual and moral
standards of excellence despite the frequent occurrence of human failings; gone is the
acknowledgement of the integrity and intelligibility of the divinely created whole; gone is
respect for the teleological ordering of nature. In their place, the emancipated human will is
increasingly seen as the measure of all things. At the same time, there are genuine achievements
that also occur in the modern period. For example, the achievements of modern science flatly
contradict the nihilism and relativism embraced by Nietzsche and Heidegger. Thus this course
ends by examining contemporary Catholic thinkers who seek to rekindle our awareness of reason
as what is highest and most divine in us: Pope John Paul II reasserting the importance of reason,
metaphysics, and the light of faith; Pope Benedict XVI rescuing eros thanks to charity and
calling attention to the Hellenic patrimony intrinsic to Christian and Catholic traditions. At the
dawn of the third millennium of Catholicism it is imperative that theologians set out to integrate
science and scholarship with wisdom and holiness. Lamb
THEO 695 Special Topics
With the approval of the program director, courses may be offered on special topics.
THEO 697 Directed Readings
With the approval of the program director, students may register for a course of independent
study in a particular area under the direction of a professor.
THEO 698 Non-Resident Research and Dissertation
(one credit, Pass/Fail)
THEO 699 Resident Research and Dissertation
(one credit, Pass/Fail)